As legendary commentator Mike Breen would say, the 2024 NBA Regular Season tipped off with a BANG!
Opening night featured the Boston Celtics making it rain threes against the New York Knicks on Banner Night, while the Minnesota Timberwolves fell to the Los Angeles Lakers in the debut of the NBA’s first father-son duo, LeBron and Bronny James. Amin Elhassan, co-host of Oddball alongside Charlotte Wilder, joined Wednesday’s edition of GoJo and Golic to share his reaction to opening night and preview the NBA season ahead.
We all CANNOT unsee what happened last night with the Boston Celtics. They showed NO MERCY against their eastern conference rival, the New York Knicks, defeating them 132-109. As Mike Golic Jr. put it, the Boston Celtics opened up a whole can of whoop ass on the New York Knicks. Coming off that performance, GoJo asked Amin what was the worst loss he has ever been a part of during his time in the NBA. Amin recalled how he worked for the Knicks when they were not as good as they are now and added you get numbed to it before following that up by reflecting on his time with the Hawks, where he spent three years prior, and expressed, “We got our head bashed in a lot.” Despite those experiences, Amin matter-of-factly states the blowouts never hurt. However, the losses where you are so close but miss by one bucket are hard to forget. He goes to his NBA historic game mental Rolodex and mentions games like Game 5 against the Lakers in 2010 and Christmas Day against the Spurs in 2009.
GoJo asked Amin to weigh in on what some fans would believe is a revenge tour this season following the perceived Olympic slights of Jayson Tatum and the snubbing of Jaylen Brown. Tatum came out hot, putting up 37 points against the Knicks, while Brown added 23 points of his own. All to be expected, according to Amin.
“Of course, last night they were going to be very motivated,” Amin said of the duo’s Banner Night performance.
However, Amin adds the reality is that in a month or two months, you are worried about what is happening in that moment. It’s very difficult to hold onto that fire or that passion. Once it comes to the playoffs, it might come back some. Someone from Joe Mazzula’s video team might pop in a reel of everything that happened in the off-season, what everyone was saying about you, especially after you just won a championship. That’s the stuff you can stoke again, but you can’t carry that fire with you for the whole season or you will burn yourself out.
Turning to the Lakers’ triumph in Hollywood, GoJo asked Amin if there were any takeaways from this game, especially since it was JJ Reddick’s first game as a head coach. Amin mentions Reddick emphasized 3-point shooting, which the Lakers focused on toward the end of the game, as well as tempo. He said that one of the two stories coming out of this game was the Timberwolves, like the Knicks, and how the Wolves will need to take some time to adjust to their new additions. The other story is Bronny James’ debut with his dad, LeBron James. On yesterday’s episode of Oddball, Amin predicted that Bronny would get in the game early, where the outcome was not in question while at the same time, not having to worry about how to get LeBron back into the game if it was a blowout. Amin thought that Bronny looked a little scared and a little unsure of himself, which is understandable because he is a rookie, after all . He missed a wide-open shot, and Amin playfully questions what the the punishment will be for that. He asked, “Is he grounded?…No allowance?”
The discussion shifts to tonight’s matchups between the Bucks and the Sixers. With Paul George and Joell Embiid already ruled out, GoJo asked Amin if this is careful planning or a foreshadowing of what is to come this season in Philly. Amin ultimately believes that the Sixers are constructing their own makeshift DraftKings Sportsbook parlay, hoping that Embiid and George are healthy when it matters and that will give them everything they desire. Amin says he would have hedged his bets and paired Embiid with another star who is typically more durable, that way if one bet crapped out the other would hit. But that’s not what Daryl Morey, who he calls a riverboat gambler, chose to do. It’s not surprising given the injury history of Embiid and George, but Amin thinks the Sixers will sacrifice their two superstars being out on opening night if we can have these guys healthy and playing together in April, May, and June when it matters most.
At the same time, Mike Golic Sr. point out that fans have been waiting to see the Bucks’ Big 3 — Damian Lillard, Khris Middleton and Giannis Antetokounmpo — really together. With Middleton out for the Bucks’ opener due to offseason ankle surgery, Senior questioned if the scenario of the three playing together is looking more ominous. Amin thinks that Middleton has been on a slide for the last couple of years and is not who he was when they won the championship. However, Amin thinks the Bucks don’t need him to be that caliber of player but instead need him to be more of an offensive threat, to hit shots and space the court. If the Bucks can solve the chemistry issues between their stars, Amin contends that the Bucks can be a Finals team.
Going back to LA, there will be much excitement and anticipation channeled into the Suns’ matchup against the Clippers in the grand opening of the Intuit Dome. With so much speculation by critics that LeBron, Steph, and KD arecoming to the end of their careers, GoJo asked Amin if Kevin Durant and the Suns have the best chances to make themselves a contender. Ironically, it was mentioned that even though some may say that the aforementioned trio are at the end of their careers, they are still 25-plus point scorers and that this Suns team is STACKED. Amin expects them to make a deep run this season.
Watch or listen to the full show below and tune into GoJo and Golic weekday mornings from 8-10 a.m. ET on DraftKings Network! See more about how to watch DraftKings Network here.
SHOW BREAKDOWN
Hour 1: DeAndre Hops Over to Kansas City, LeBron & Bronny Make History, Navy QB Blake Horvath Joins The Show
VIDEO
Watch GoJo and Golic every weekday on Samsung TV Plus, Roku, Xumo Play, Google TV and DraftKingsNetwork.com from 8 to 10 a.m. ET. The show is also available via audio on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also follow Mike Golic Sr. on X at @golic and Mike Golic Jr. on X at @mikegolicjr.
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